NEWS

Week 12 Awards: San Diego Legion end RUNY home winning streak, as Brock Staller becomes first MLR player with multiple Player of the Week honors

MLR announces Player, Team and First XV of Week 12

Salt Lake City, UT; April 16, 2019: On Sunday night, the San Diego Legion battled RUNY in MCU Park and became the first team to leave New York victorious, winning 29-19 and earning the Week 12 Team of the Week Award. Seattle Seawolves wing Brock Staller spearheaded a 52-point offensive onslaught in victory over the Houston SaberCats, scooping Week 12 Player of the Week and becoming the 2019 season’s first two-time award winner.

Rugby United had yet to lose at home in the club’s inaugural season, relying on one of the stingiest defenses in the league. Seven minutes into Sunday’s match, the San Diego Legion faced an early 12-0 deficit on the road in a game with huge playoff implications. But after half-time, the esteemed San Diego defense exerted control and swung the match, not allowing a single second-half point. The Californians’ well-rounded offensive unit won 100-percent of their scrums and saw five different players score a try, Joe Pietersen’s show-and-go solo effort a particular highlight. The Legion climbs to third in the standings with the win, propelled by the league’s best point differential. Meanwhile, RUNY is on the outside looking in for the playoffs following the loss, sitting at fifth.

The Houston SaberCats and Seattle Seawolves played out a tight opening half at the newly opened AVEVA Stadium, only the second full-time rugby venue in the United States. But the second half was the Brock Staller show. After drilling two penalty kicks to extend Seattle’s lead to 19-5, in the 57th minute the speedy Staller intercepted an errant offload and ran over untouched from 60 meters for his fifth try of the season. By the final whistle, Staller had accumulated 22 points, a 2019 MLR single game record, and stuffed the stat sheet in the Seawolves’ 52-10 victory, piling up 127 meters on nine carries, four conversions, three penalty kicks and a try. Staller tops the league by a sizable margin in individual points scored, recording 128 points so far, 17 points ahead of second place JP Eloff of the NOLA Gold. This is Staller’s second MLR Player of the Week Award of the season, the first occurring in Week 5.

MLR’s First XV of Week 12:

Loosehead Prop (No. 1), Kellen Gordon, Seattle Seawolves

Hooker (No. 2), Pat O’Toole, Houston SaberCats

Tighthead Prop (No. 3), Paddy Ryan, San Diego Legion

Lock (No. 4), Lou Stanfill, San Diego Legion

Lock (No. 5), Nate Brakeley, Rugby United New York

Blindside Flanker (No. 6), Lance Williams, Utah Warriors

Openside Flanker (No. 7), Nakai Penny, Seattle Seawolves

No. 8, Cam Dolan, NOLA Gold

Scrum-half (No. 9), Mike Petri, Rugby United New York

Fly-half (No. 10), Joe Pietersen, San Diego Legion

Wing (No. 11), Ryan Matyas, San Diego Legion

Inside Center (No. 12), Shalom Suniula, Seattle Seawolves

Outside Center (No. 13), Tristan Blewett, NOLA Gold

Wing (No. 14), Brock Staller, Seattle Seawolves

Fullback (No. 15), JP Eloff, NOLA Gold

ABOUT MLR

MLR is a professional rugby league launched in April of 2018. It’s an initiative of the North American rugby community, in partnership with private investors, who believe that North American rugby can thrive at the highest levels: as a commercial enterprise; as an influential player on the international scene; and as a participation sport at the youth and senior level. MLR will be the pinnacle of North American rugby, and provide a rallying point for local communities, a focal point for North American rugby fans, and an aspirational destination for young athletes. There are already over 40 internationals and players from more than 15 countries playing in the MLR. Twenty-two MLR stars represented the USA Eagles and Canada national teams in the opening round of the 2019 Americas Rugby Championship, with more than 30 called up over the course of the tournament.

The teams competing in MLR Season 2 are Austin Elite, Glendale Raptors, Houston SaberCats, New Orleans Gold, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, Utah Warriors plus new additions Rugby United New York and Toronto Arrows. In 2020, New England Free Jacks, Old Glory DC and Rugby ATL will bring the total to 12 teams for MLR Season 3.